I did a layout... It's About ME! (*gasp*) - (AKA:It'sFinally "Tomorrow", and I Promised my "DUH!" moment)

Howdy there! If you've come here today because I promised you something yesterday, then you're in luck, because I followed through! You came back to the right place, because I'm here! with lots of little goodies/nuggets to find.

I've slacked a lot in the scrapbooking department. I never scrapbook about myself. I mean NEVER. I don't really want to see pictures of myself. I don't really have that many pictures of myself... Like most of you, I'm the one with the camera (or the phone) out and I slink away when others have one out and/or put on a fake smiley over-exaggerated face or sometimes a funny face. Whatever the reason, I'm going to totally rationalize it, so you'll never win because I'm the one who always wins here the pics just don't get out there.

Let me give you just a tad of background... Many of you may have seen my post from yesterday. In that post, I was supposed to make a card. A "technique" card. An emboss-resist technique card. We were even given four (4... Count them... 1, 2, 3... 4!) different links to watch videos of people making... you guessed it! CARDS! Did I make one... Nope... Well, not at first anyway... Somehow, someway, I missed that key word. CARD. And so... I made a layout. New Year... New Me... Stepping out of my box/comfort zone... "Shheeee... I'll make a layout about ME! and my Journey... that I actually planned for and was going to start on January 4th, 2016." layout. Yep. I did. I worked hard on it.

I had issues with PicStitch (an app on my phone). I would choose 9 photos and then begin placing them. Placed the first one yay, me!... And *whoosh!* when I clicked back to place the next one... or edited one, ALL. of. the. other. pictures. were. gone. And I kept trying... You know how apps get, right? They have lots of teeny-tiny little gremlin bugs within them that are laughing at you every flippin' time something wrong happens until finally... you get it right. And finally, I got it right... or as close as I was going to get it.

If you look closely, you'll see... in each little box, I've added text or a drawing. I'm so proud of myself. (*pats "self" on back*) This is me. Untouched. Unfiltered. RAW. Okay... not that dramatic, and I didn't shoot in RAW, sorry if you photo-peeps mistook that... About my journey hopefully this one will stick and I'll actually finish it because I did invest money in myself... and the beginning of a scrapbook about myself. My children do deserve to know or remember more about me not that I haven't told them all of this stuff a thousand times or more, but one day... when I'm unable to tell the stories any more, there will be stories in my personal about me! scrapbook, for them to either read to me in my demented state... let's face it, we all might be there some day or to read and share it with other family members one day. (We all should do this... keep family histories alive!)

Anyway... I wanted them to see that each of us try things. And we have to work for what we want. And work... HARD!

And so... I began a layout to go with it. Working steadily... diligently... playing with Photoshop Elements because you just know the dang pic won't print in the right size without things getting cut off here and there, I know... I tried. It took me 3 printings to finally put it through Photoshop and resize the dang thing and getting it printed. Sorry... totally flaked on taking a screen shot of that. I know you were totally waiting to see a screen shot of Photoshop, huh? Yep. Thought so...

Since I was beginning my journey, what better paper to use than something similar to a notebook page, right? Right!

And if you read yesterday's post, you should hopefully remember we were doing the emboss-resist technique...

And then... I stamped the "2016" and "New Year New Me" stamps in clear embossing ink:

And sprinkled clear embossing powder ALL OVER IT!

And it came out like this kinds dingy and gross-looking and definitely not clear-looking...

That's what you get for using a pad that looks like this: (Clean your stamps as you go, people!) Yes... that's all kind of ink and glitter and... who the heck even knows!!??!!

I sponged one of my favorite Distress Inks all over it... Not so hot...

So, I tried spraying a mist of water on it...

No help.

And I moved on... to another sheet of paper. Don't fret! I did not waste that paper... I now use it as a mat for whatever I'm pouring embossing powder over... it still curves and funnels beautifully!!!

But in the meantime... SQUIRREL!!! Did I ever tell you I have just a touch of ADHD? Hmmm... well, combine that with a little OCD, and... you've got... ME! I was getting fed up with trying to find inks because you know that since the holidays and all came directly after the handy dandy hubs completed the new craftroom and I haven't had time to organize it... STILL! Doing all this resist stuff requires INK. And so... in the midst of all this layout-making, I built this cart it was so hard, I still feel like I'm sweating from the workout, moved this whole big box of inks into the cart, and totally felt better. Breathe...

Back to my layout-making... and this time since the last stamp pad obviously had residual ink from uncleaned stamps, I went with the "tinted" dries-clear embossing ink, which looked like THIS:

yeah I know... looks much worse than the first stamp pad, but I was willing to try. Guess I'm going to have to go SHOPPING for some new embossing ink pads, huh. What a... BUMMER! Ha!
and stamped the same two stamps on the new paper...

and applied my heat-embossing tool to it, then used bright sunshine-y yellow on it to make it more positive and hopeful.

Wasn't quite happy with it... so I misted it with water. After misting it with water, it tore just a tad which is totally what I'd intended but not intended to do. You follow me? Me neither! Notebooks need to look worn-ish, right?

On some YouTuber's video, somewhere... someone had said to mist the bottom as well as the top, so that it dries more evenly and doesn't curl. Well... you see how that all worked out...

On to my next stamp... "I CAN" because I can! Because I really truly can! because I'm really trying to have faith in myself that this time is the time and I will succeed because... Did you guess it? I CAN! I brushed it with some green is for "GO!", don't you know? watercolor markers (see the beading on top of the embossing?),

and brushed it off with a wipe.

I did a bit of doodling and some writing... and called it a day! YAY! ME!!!

complete finished layout... (please note... AHEAD OF SCHEDULE!)

And then... I went to post it for the Card Technique Challenge. remember... if you're following this, for some oddball reason, I hadn't been seeing/reading the CARD word As I was reading the pasting job of the "write-up" because some of us don't use the write-ups word for word and we tweak them as we see fit, the word "CARD" kept jumping out at me!!!! Whole. E. Shhhhh... ute! No flippin' way! I was WAY ahead of the game for once and had to start all. over. again. (See yesterday's post to see what I ended up doing as a last-minute card. I actually think it turned out pretty well. And then... of course I think... Otherwise I wouldn't be alive, right? Right.

By the way... In case you missed it... the above paragraph was my totally "DUH!" moment...
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The back story behind the layout?

Full honesty here, folks. No jokes. Some of us have struggled most of our lives with weight. Whether we're too heavy (like me) or too light (like lots of other people). If you happen to have never had to deal with either of these problems, in ANY extreme, please consider yourself very lucky. Have a heart, since there's no way you could possibly understand, and do not judge.

So... in my goal to be healthier (this started WAY before "New Year Resolution" stuff...), I committed to a 90-Day Shred Challenge. I have a friend who kinda talked me into it... who is an "It Works!" distributor. I've watched her shrink and be much healthier. And I know her... so, I've actually been watching it work for her. I'd already cut way back on my portion sizes, added more salads, but down (pretty much cut out) my beloved Coca-Cola, and upped my consumption of water. On my own, I'd already lost 10 pounds. But I had (still have) a lot more to go. Enter my friend, who offered me support and just to try the 90-day challenge... I said yes.

I'm here, 5 days after the challenge started. I have not added exercise yet, but yet... I'm down 4 more pounds, feeling fully satisfied, and not craving a thing! Yay me! and just so you know... writing all this about myself and doing a layout of ME is a complete challenge on it's own. Had to up my game and step out of the "self" box.

Please feel free to share your struggle(s), challenge(s) and even your own "DUH!" moment(s) in the comment section. I'd love to hear from you and get to know YOU a little better, too!

ACTION!: Paper Hoarders DT Challenge

This week's Design Team Challenge over at the Paper Hoarders is ACTION! Meaning... it's gotta move. And I "do" move. So, I'll catch briefly catch you up to see what I've been working on...

Whew! It's been busy. School started here a couple of weeks ago (as seen in a previous post...), and I've been workin' it. Besides my normal everyday volunteer work (in the Kinder classes, 1st and now 2nd grades), I've been working-working as an assistant in the RSP program at another school.

And I'm having a blast!

On the first day of school, I walked into a fairly large classroom, with {gasp!!!} blank bulletin boards. My new teacher let me know that I could give her my ideas, and she'd let me know. [oh yeah!!! crafter's dream!!!!] She told me what type of boards we would need (1st, 2nd and 3rd grade ELA themes [for their current stories], Comprehension, Reading, Fluency Goals, and Math). So I set to work researching on the internet. (I'd never done those type of things before, but you know me... a challenge is a challenge, and I kinda L-O-V-E those!

eHow was a great tool... there I found a couple of ideas incorporating comprehension and some with vocabulary goals. So... I thought of combining it all, and making more up as I went, and instead of individual boards... um... making an OCEAN! Here's my crediting linkage. (Much thanks to Erin Schreiner, the author! I took her "Swimming through Comprehension" board and RAN with it!)

 I love interactivity. I arouses the mind and makes kids have fun learning. So... on eHow, I saw vocab words written down and each student as a fish swimming past these [goals]. OK. Only... we'd have each student as a fish and swim UP towards their goals in percentages (I still have to write the percentages... oopsie!)

And here's a little closer up... the percentage (of their goals) will be written on the seaweed to to the left of the chart. The different colored fishies here represent the different grades (so the students can find themselves easier). Please note... no one has moved up yet, because we're just starting the program and no one has been tested towards their goals this year.

Then we'll move onto the comprehension/theme side of things, entitled: What Does it all Mean? (how appropriate, right?)

And here, I separated the themes into the various grades...

With the titles of each of their themes... then I created a tissue paper "bubble", stapled laminated paper to it, so I could attach a current passage/story summary on each.

Then I added a passage/story summary...

The surrounding fish are laminated (so the Expo marker can be changed...) and written with either a vocabulary word or question related to the passage/story.

If you notice, they are stapled at the top and creased, so they fold up...

To reveal the definition (if a vocab word) or the answer!

As the stories change, so can our bulletin boards, without having to completely re-do them!

The same concept is done with the Math board... only these guys have googly-eyes, as their questions didn't take up so much room!

I'll incorporate more fish with questions and answers as we get beyond the previous year's review...

And then my favorite... the Island of Reading...

The cuts say "Journey", "Escape", "Dream", and "READ".

It's a work in progress, and I hope to get more fish shapes in there, but I'm on a time crunch and do have to work with the kids still, so there's really not much time for me to play with the boards, but... it's enough for Back-to-School night next week, so there we are.

I was trying to make a card earlier today, but it didn't turn out and still isn't turning out at this late hour (it's after midnight), so... this is action for today! Hopefully after hubby's vacation next week, I'll have time to figure out the dang moving card (the dimensions JUST were NOT working for me! and not letting it do what I thought it would do... ugh!).

But, in the meantime, please check out Ms. Tanya's blog, where all the other Design Team members have their work and links posted. Please be sure to give them some love, as you know... we all need it. And don't forget... you can join in the challenge, too! If you do, please be sure to leave me a link, so I can stop by and share some love, too!

Thanks for stopping by and sharing my simple pleasures with me. I appreciate it. and YOU have a wonderful Labor Day Weekend!

Paper Hoarders Memorial Day Challenge

Good Morning!!!! Yes! It's been a while. And I'm back to show you the layout I made commemorating Memorial Day...

First, a bit of history. What? No... you didn't get enough of that in high school. History continues on... Memorial Day is for ALL of our fallen soldiers, who have fought for our country and died while doing it. There is not enough we could offer them, but we try... we give them our thanks and honor them on this day.

Our country is based on history, and we were asked to do a project for Memorial Day. Um... that's really hard for me. Difficult, I say. Well, because I don't (personally) know of anyone who sacrificed their lives for our country. I haven't known the men and women who have died for us.

So... at first... I thought I'd make a tote. Tote made... I was going to sponge-paint a flag on it and use it forever (like the stamps!) for groceries and such... then I remembered... OMGOSH! This is for Paper Hoarders... What the heck does a pillowcase tote have to do with paper. Ok... scrap that.

Then... I got the inclination to do dog tags. I had these really cool vellum tags that have been just sitting here... and with some vellum labels, I could print something? Awesome. So... Recollections (from Michaels) has this really cool shimmery navy blue cardstock that I used for my background.

And then I began searching the internet for awesome photos of soldiers in the field, or even commemorative photos of soldiers. I intended to put a pic in each star on my blue background, but... I came across this photo. And I love it. It basically says it all.

I'm not overly religious, but... I do honor our Pledge (of Allegiance). I believe that no matter what other people believe, our Founding Fathers began this nation under these beliefs. This part of history is part of US, as a Nation. And whether you believe in God or another higher power, or nothing at all, just by stating it... we are together as a Nation, identifying with our history. And these people, the men and women who have died defending our country and/or those who we were trying to protect, as well... Deserve to be honored in our country's history.

And so... the dog tags state:  (White) - "In God We Trust... We also trust those, who have given their everything, their lives. To our soldiers who offered us so much..." and (Red) "In Memoriam... to honor every soldier who has fallen... for our Nation... One Nation Under God".

I just love blues, reds, and whites. They are awesome together. And I just HAD to use the Recollections white cardstock, that's flecked with red and blue. How fitting for this. I distressed the photo, to show the wear each soldier has taken on... ultimately... (and yes... I finally got my Distrezz-It-All...)

I hope you like it, and remember it. If you'd like to see the other DT members' projects (they're AWESOME!), just go visit Tanya's blog and give everyone a little love. They work hard for it. Oh! and don't forget to leave a comment here... Have a wonderful Memorial Weekend, no matter how you choose to celebrate (I'll be walking a pool deck... working! lol!)

Time Goes By... Mother's Day (Paper Hoarders DT)

Wow! I had a whole lot of stuff I was going to write/complain about, but um... got here (to Blogger) and saw there are a whole heck of a lot of changes, and that just ADDS to my crappy week. Ick!

So... let's just go with the DT challenge. We had our choice of Mother's Day or Spring. I had this BRILLIANT idea. Katy Perry was just ringing through my mind with her "Firework" song... as Marissa had a talent show (see her video at end...)today and one of the kids was singing that, so yes... it got stuck in my head... like for THREE weeks (all through the practices...) and so, I thought I'd do "Mommy, You're a Firework!" But...

My Gypsy broke. It won't connect to the computer (for an update) or to the Cricut. Neither device recognizes the Gypsy as being recognized. So sad. [Short Story: HSN is supposed to call me back with info on where to ship it. Have they called? NO!, but hopefully, they will soon...]

And so... after years of working on my Gypsy, I had to re-train myself on the Cricut machine, itself. I'm sure I could have used Cricut Craftroom, or Design Studio... but there are no computers in my craft room or near it, and the Cricut isn't on Wifi, so... ('cause gee... I wouldn't need a computer if my Gypsy was working...) Whew! It's tough. To have to make cuts on the .25 inch marks. To not be able to mix, match, weld, etc. Wow, to not be able to flip things and manipulate them to WHERE I WANT THEM ON THE FRIGGIN' MAT... um yeah... you get the picture. It was really REALLY REALLY difficult for me. You can't teach an old dog to go BACK to their old ways, once they've already advanced... but I plunged on.

So anyway, back to this brilliant idea. My intention was to have the words cut out and welded on the front of the card, with cut fireworks in the background. Did not happen. The blade was tearing the paper at the smaller size, and didn't cut through at the too big size; I couldn't cut it at the just-right size, as well... you know... (see above short story)...

So I gave up. (on that part).

I ended up finding some awesome firework paper in my scraps, cut it to fit the front of the card, wrote it out myself (yes, that's my printing, folks!) in embossing ink, sprinkled cutesy puffy purple embossing powder, and heated the sucker up. Blooop! Up it puffed. But... it wasn't enough... so...

I did firework-y lines all over in the fireworks areas and then used rainbow sprinkles (who knew they weren't just for cupcakes anymore!) embossing powder on THAT and heated it up. Now I was all sparkly and fresh on the front, but dull and not even related to Mother's Day on the inside.

I was able to cut (success!!!) a phrase from Graphically Speaking that wasn't too small, wasn't too big, wasn't just right, but, was about as good as it was going to get... So I took it. And... if you remember my post from LAST month (yes... it's been that long, folks...) you'll remember I am completely fascinated with my new Martha Stewart fraying scissors. (They'll be new to me for a long time, so just get used to it!) So, I cut out a bunch of colors, and they didn't quite fit the way I thought they would. I couldn't get them to flip and flop the way I wanted, so I just used them in the background, slapped a black oval (to symbolize the night sky... ready for fireworks), and put in my "HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY". Whew.

Now if that ain't a heart-attack and a half!

There's a lot more to my last couple of weeks, including LOTS of bad-hair days, but we won't get into that just now. Suffice it to say, that... Well... I'm still here. You're still here, and life is just a little busy and complicated at the moment. I'm hoping it smooths out in a couple of weeks (when summer gets here!). Cheerio! (and if you'd like to see the rest of the ladies' challenges and JOIN IN, feel free, and visit Ms. Tanya's blogaroo... don't forget to leave some love for us. happy comments and praises [even just a smidge] are what makes our worlds go 'round!)

and here's Marissa's brilliant Magician act... kids are so cute! (btw... please don't mind the background noise [i was having horrible mommy-moments] or the idiotic recording... still learning the new phone... helpful hints and how-to's are welcome! thx!)

Gina's Anniversary!!! (Becky's Sweet Creations DT Challenge)

I'm back with a challenge from Becky's Sweet Creations... Our challenge was purple and gold... an anniversary card. So. to the point.  Gold foil (embossed w/Tim Holtz!) in a "timeless" pattern, layered over a deep rich purple, then stamped and heat embossed with "love". Pretty much sums it up! lol! Love is timeless...  Happy Anniversary, Gina! (yes, i know the pictures suck... learning to work my new phone and can't figure it out. but... there IS hope. i've seen TONS of people take AWESOME pics with the iPhone. wish me luck!)

Paper Hoarders Design Team Challenge: Christmas Card

Yes... I know... it's been almost a month. No excuses, just no mojo, and no battery... and no... and no... (enough with my excuses already... ON! with the challenge!)

So, last year... at the Day After Christmas Sales... I found myself at Target. Going through their clearance stash and came across a couple of bolts of white feather boa "ribbon" for $1.99, marked at 1/2 off LOWEST price. Ya think they might've miss-marked THAT? And so... me, being the totally frugal hoarder person that I am bought them all up! With a card in mind... for this year...

And it took me MANY challenges to finally DO it!

So here I am, presenting it to you...  I mean... What's more Christmas than a little Santa Claus?

How did I get here?

Here's some things NOT to do:

Do not cheat simplify by trying to glitter over the red... it shows through. So, instead, glitter over a black cardstock strip, and you'll be good.

Do not try to heat emboss a plastic slide thinking it would act just like a shrinky-dink to make it look like a belt buckle. It morphs into something utterly at the bottom of a volcano. Ugh. What a mess! And a waste of my precious metallic embossing powder. Instead... Cut the dang thing out of REALLY thick chipboard, instead.

Just another note... when using a really thick "ribbon" like this white feather boa... cut slits to tuck the boa in. DO NOT try putting the belt and the buckle over the ribbon... it makes Santa more fat and bumpy than he really should be...

And another note... DO NOT WEAR BLACK WHILE DOING THIS PROJECT! Unless you want white feather fluff to show all over you... my fleecewear is still recuperating.

Hope you had a fun time and enjoy it! Now... if you want to check out the others for our December Challenge, go on... and go to Miss Tanya's blog! Leave a little love for each of our designers, and join in the challenge, too! Mwah!

Paper Hoarders Design Team Challenge: What Are YOU Thankful For?

I had to think a lot about this, and try to focus on one or two things... as I'm thankful for a lot.

Thankfully, I didn't have to think to hard, because... as I was perusing through my stash of Cuttlebug folders, I came across one that had LOTS of things to be thankful for on it! HA! (You'll see in a sec...)

I've been trying to utilize my stash, so I remembered this Debbie Mumm stack that I bought several years ago (unlike others, I rarely buy stacks...) and so, I cut out the stacked pumpkins. They are so sparkly and awesome. I just HAD to use them.

Then I ran some orange cardstock through a Pumpkin Cuttlebug embossing folder, inked up the Lots to Be Thankful For (don't really know the name of the folder, but that's what I'm gonna call it...) Cuttlebug folder with Walnut Stain Distress Ink (to make the words POP!), then ran some vellum through it.

I sprayed the vellum with a spray adhesive by 3M (love it!!! it SOOO doesn't show!), and attached it to my card; then attached my stacked pumpkins with a little ATG love, added the "Give Thanks" ribbon (another stash-y item), and called it a day.

And so Provo Craft did something right! They invented something that states ALL the things I'm thankful for when Autumn comes... well... if it ever comes, HERE, in Southern California...

Unfortunately, you can't really see the pumpkin embossing, but that's ok. It still gives it a little dimension.

Now... to see other peeps who are thankful, please check out Ms. Tanya's blog... and if you want to, let me know that YOU want to be a Paper Hoarder, too! We'll sign you up!

Lastly... join us for the challenge. What are YOU thankful for? Thanks for looking!

Wordless/full Wednesday: Halloween,,, Present-Day

Let it be known... today is kind of wordy... and tomorrow will have costumes from the years before (the ones I made... and a story to go with it...)

Halloween was just the other day. And we had loads of fun. The kids dressed up (even the olders), and we went out trick-or-treating (tot). Went to Grandma's (Mom's) house for dinner (traditional Ghoul-ash and Mummy Fingers [cheesy breadsticks] and tot-ing , went to the "old" neighborhood after, then back to Grandma's to have our traditional donuts and apple cider, before we trekked home 60+ miles.

The "Kids" Gang... (l-r, Stacy, Travis, Rey, Marissa, & Xanny, too!)

Grandpa and the Ghouls:

Friends' house...

they go "all out!"

Marissa, kissing her favorite cartoon character... (and Rey... posing!)

Look!!! It's Colonel Sanders (KFC for those of you too young to know who the Colonel is...)

and his chicken!!!

We're just having fun, MOM!

Look at how pretty the sky is...

It's hard... but they finally got a pic of me... (with my older girls)

She passed out on the long ride home...

Remember to come back tomorrow and relive the days... of the HOMEMADE costumes, before my kids "liked" storebought.

Oh! and if you wanna link up to others of wordless/wordfull Wednesdays, check these sites out: http://www.twoofakindworkingonafullhouse.com/ and DANG! I can't find the site for wordFULL Wednesdays... if anyone remembers, please be sure to leave me a link. Thanks!!!